Embrace
by Christoph C. Macbeth
Summary: Koujaku spends the night at Aoba's place. When he tries to go to sleep, something on his mind keeps him from being able to... and he decides to do something about it. Sappy KouAo fluff - takes place during the early stages of their romantic relationship. (Sorry, I'm really bad at summaries...)


Koujaku had decided to stay at the Seragaki residence, which isn't anything new, but, tonight, he keeps tossing and turning. There's one thing on his mind that won't go away no matter how hard he tries to force it to, and it's causing him to lose sleep.

He wants to sleep next to Aoba…

He wants to hold him and relish in the heat his body gives off… and take in his scent and lose himself in it… It's something he's wanted ever since he confessed to Aoba, and maybe even long before that. Sure, he was able to hold Aoba while he napped after what followed the confession… but it wasn't enough, especially since he had to hurriedly get up and leave Aoba's bed before Tae returned home. However, that short time Aoba spent napping in his arms… it was wonderful, like he was living in a dream, but it wasn't quite enough.

He wants to know what it's like to spend the _entire_ night with him. Though, if he's honest with himself, "wants" isn't exactly the right word for it…

He _needs_ to know.

Apart from wanting just to be near him, he wants to know _how_ Aoba sleeps. When they were kids, there were a few times Aoba mumbled things in his sleep, of that much he can still remember - does he still mumble in his sleep? Does he snore? Does he like to sleep on his back or his side? Or maybe on his stomach? The questions run rampant through his mind, and he feels a little embarrassed about it. But… he genuinely wants to know everything about how Aoba sleeps… especially since he looks so cute while he's asleep.

Though, truthfully, he wants to know _everything_ about Aoba. He thought he already knew everything about him, but he's come to learn that there's so much he doesn't know. He expected that though, since they were apart for so long - it was guaranteed that there would be changes in his childhood friend, changes in both of them, but he didn't think there would be so many changes, so much he didn't know. And he wants to know _everything_ about Aoba, wants to learn about every little thing he missed while he was away from the island, and, again, "wants" isn't the right word…

He _needs_ to know everything about Aoba.

Koujaku releases a heavy sigh and rolls onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, wondering what he should do about his "dilemma". Thinking it over, he realizes his only options are to keep trying to force himself to go to sleep or…

He can go to Aoba's room.

There have been plenty of times where Aoba said that he wants to wait to tell people that they are something more than friends now, especially Granny. It isn't because he thinks their new relationship is going to fail, or that he's ashamed of it, he explained that he didn't know how to talk about it, or even how to bring it up. He also admitted that he worried how Granny would react despite Koujaku telling him that he believed she wouldn't react negatively. However, he's not certain of that… so he agreed to keep quiet about it for the time being.

Meaning… just going to Aoba isn't an option.

Then again… it's the middle of the night, so Tae should be asleep. If he's quiet he can

His heart skips a beat as he sits up, and he stares in the direction of Aoba's room. Hesitation shows up, and he wonders if it's better if he keeps trying to force himself to go to sleep… but he's been trying to do that for hours and his efforts have proven to be fruitless, so the hesitation fades away within seconds. His feet move almost on their own, and he's careful not to make too much noise; it's dark and hard to see, but he knows the house well, so there's not a lot of difficulty finding his way. Oddly, he feels like he's doing something he's not supposed to (he kind of is), and it's… somehow exciting, causing the nearly-silent trek to Aoba's room to feel like it's taking a long time, when, in reality, it takes only seconds.

As Koujaku stands before the door, he tells himself that, if he's really going to go inside, he'll need to wake up early and return to where he normally sleeps before Tae wakes up (unless he _wants_ to get an earful from Aoba). He takes a deep breath before carefully opening the door to step inside, making sure to close it again as quietly as possible.

Somehow, he made it, and there's Aoba… sleeping serenely, breathing softly; he's lying on his side and facing the wall. Koujaku swallows hard and approaches him.

As he stands before the slumbering Aoba (he notices Aoba's snoring softly, cutely, and a smile threatens to tug at the corners of his mouth), a strong yearning to touch his long, blue hair begins to burn within him, stubbornly, and he even extends his hand to do so, thinking only of how soft it was when he touched it the day he confessed his feelings, but he quickly thinks better of it and stops himself. His fingers brush against Aoba's shoulder instead as he tries to decide if there's even enough room for him to lie next to Aoba. There is, but it'll be a tight fit - that's perfectly fine though, it just means he'll have to be close to Aoba, really close, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Even after Aoba lazily rolls over to lie on his other side (he softly mumbles something unintelligible as he does so, and then there it is again - that smile tugging at Koujaku's mouth), causing him to face Koujaku, there's still room for him too. He smiles to himself as he lies down and wraps his arms around Aoba to pull him close, being careful not to wake him.

And Aoba's so warm… His body radiates so much heat, and Koujaku feels all of it, takes it in and cherishes it.

Koujaku holds him tightly and nuzzles his face into the top of Aoba's head, into his messy bed hair. Holding Aoba like this… Koujaku is finally comfortable, and he closes his eyes.

"What are you doing here…?" Aoba's groggy voice startles him, making his heart race, and his eyes shoot open.

He dodges the question at first, instead, softly saying: "Ah… sorry, I didn't mean to wake you…" while trying to keep his nerves from affecting his voice. He doesn't know if he succeeded or not because Aoba doesn't respond for a while, and, when he finally does, his response is only a sleepy hum.

Returning to Aoba's languid inquiry, Koujaku takes a deep breath and decides to answer with complete honesty, even though he knows what sort of reaction it will earn him - he doesn't know what he'd say even if he _didn't_ want to answer truthfully anyway. "Well… it's… kind of embarrassing, but…" hesitation rears its ugly head again, but he pushes through it and keeps talking, even as a feeling of coyness arises and makes his face warm up, "I just… wanted to sleep next to you…"

Without even realizing he's doing it, Koujaku holds his breath, anticipating the snappy response he knows is coming, he can _feel_ it coming. He expects Aoba to get flustered and strongly object. He expects him to say something like: "You can't! What if Granny finds out?!" just before forcing him out of the room.

But that doesn't happen.

Aoba doesn't say anything, he's completely silent and motionless, so Koujaku speaks again.

"I'll… wake up early and leave so Tae-san doesn't-" Aoba nuzzles his head into Koujaku's chest, cutting him off. "A-Aoba…?" Koujaku's breath hitches in his throat, and he tries to say something more but it's as if he's forgotten how to form words when Aoba slips an arm over his abdomen while wiggling even closer to him. It's definitely not the reaction Koujaku expected from him at all, and, for a moment, he thinks it's odd, but those thoughts are immediately drowned out by the strong feeling of delight that grows within - he fully expected Aoba to turn him away, but he didn't, and Koujaku is so relieved. His hold on Aoba tightens and he places a soft kiss onto the top of his head.

The fact that Aoba didn't strongly object to him just being there is still a major shock (maybe the only reason the younger man didn't spit out protest after protest is that he's half asleep), so to touch him in any way he already isn't is practically asking to get kicked out… but being so close to him… The need to touch is actually making his hands shake, and he finds it so strange - that he _needs_ to touch Aoba. It's never been something that bothered him much before he sorted his feelings and built up the courage to convey them. Before, he only _wanted_ to touch Aoba, with gentle embraces or light kisses, but he never expected the want to be so strong it became a need. Now, it's almost the only thing he can think of, the thoughts are constantly there, rampaging through his mind every waking moment of the day - how he _needs_ to touch Aoba, _needs_ to hold his hand every chance he gets, _needs_ to feel Aoba's lips pressed against his own, _needs_ to comb his fingers through that long, blue hair…

That hair…

Its baffling sensitivity has always caused it to be off-limits to him, to _everyone_, and that alone makes him want to touch it even more. Aoba didn't seem to mind him touching it before, he even said he would let Koujaku _cut_ it… but, still, he shouldn't touch it now…

But he can't _not_ touch it…

He _needs_ to touch it…

Just touching it a little would be fine, wouldn't it? And if Aoba tells him to stop, he will - without even a shred of hesitation.

Slowly, hesitantly, his still-shaking hand skims up Aoba's back, following along his spine, before lifting his hand to comb his fingers through Aoba's hair, carefully tangling into the blue strands. Aoba shifts slightly, noticeably startled by the sudden contact with his sensitive hair. "Do you want me to stop?" even though it doesn't seem like Aoba is uncomfortable or trying to pull away, Koujaku asks anyway.

"N-no - I'm just… still not used to someone else touching my hair…" he seems a little more awake than earlier, but his voice still sounds groggy, there's a hint of nervousness now too. Even though Aoba didn't say he needs to stop, his body tenses up when Koujaku continues stroking his hair, causing him to hesitate and consider pulling his hand away.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stop?"

"Yeah, it's fine… if… it's you…" the last few words are so quiet Koujaku can barely hear them, and after forcing them out of his mouth, heat radiates from Aoba's body as he buries his face into Koujaku's chest. Now he's embarrassed… and Koujaku can't help thinking how overwhelmingly adorable Aoba is, especially after saying something like _that_. A small smile forms on Koujaku's face.

"Aoba…"

"Mn…?"

"You're so cute…" Aoba makes a sudden sound akin to choking, and Koujaku can feel him stiffen in his hold. He chuckles when Aoba lightly smacks his arm, and he doesn't need to see Aoba's face to know that it's now scrunched up into an aggravated glare. He's definitely pushing his luck now, definitely on the way to getting kicked out… but he can't help it, he can't help that he loves the way Aoba reacts whenever he says those types of things.

And he feels he _needs_ to say those types of things often.

"Sh-shut up, you hippo…"

"And… thank you… for letting me sleep here with you…"

"Ah… Y-yeah…"

Carefully, Koujaku begins playing with Aoba's hair again, feeling only a little less nervous about touching it than a few moments ago, combing his fingers through it one moment and twirling the longer strands around his fingers the next moment - just taking the time to feel it slide through his fingers. He's trying really hard to be careful with it, and, soon, it seems Aoba has adjusted to Koujaku stroking his hair, the gentle action even seems to be lulling him back to sleep.

Just as he begins to think Aoba has fallen asleep, he suddenly tilts his head just enough to nip at Koujaku's lips with his own a few times before nestling his head back into Koujaku's chest with a sigh. "Now go to sleep… or I'll kick you out…" he's trying to use that irritated tone he normally uses, but, with every word, Aoba's voice softens like he's struggling to stay awake and Koujaku has to fight back a laugh because of it. When he opens his mouth to say "goodnight," he realizes Aoba has already fallen asleep, so he smiles to himself and doesn't say anything, closing his eyes instead.

Being able to hold Aoba like this, having him so close and nestled within his arms… He's so warm, so comfortable… Aoba's breathing softly, Koujaku can feel the hot puffs of air on his chest, and, in some unexplainable way, it feels amazing. That smile from before comes back, tugging at the corners of his mouth as his hand searches around for one of Aoba's, entwining their fingers together once he has a hold of it.

Just as he's about to fall into sleep himself, he wonders briefly if, from now on, Aoba would let him stay in his room like this every night he stays over…

It might take a little persuasion, but maybe… 

* * *

><p>The next morning, Koujaku made sure to wake up early to return to where he normally sleeps before Tae got up. It soon became almost a regular occurrence - Koujaku would sneak into Aoba's room to sleep next to him and leave it early the next morning before Tae woke up. Sometimes, Aoba would awaken and berate him halfheartedly, other times he wouldn't stir, not even noticing there was someone next to him.<p>

They thought they could keep Tae in the dark, but they were wrong. Sometimes she would see Koujaku entering Aoba's room, other times she saw him leave, but she never mentioned it to either of them, deciding to let them think she never noticed. She knew they would talk to her when they were ready - not that they really needed to say anything because, to her, it was obvious that something was different between them.

Though, truthfully, she knew that long before she started seeing them sneak around like idiots in the middle of the night… but she would pretend otherwise. And once they finally decide to tell her…

She planned to scold them for taking so long to tell her.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Hnnngg- Thank you very much for reading!<em>


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